NCIS season 10 put Ducky and Jimmy in danger in episode 16, “Detour,” which saw the team working to find them and solve a murder at the same time.

The victim, Lieutenant Gordon Roth, shocked two plumbers and their customer when he stumbled over to their van and drank drain cleaner. However, as Ducky and Jimmy discovered, he had been shot and in a fight. They learned from his CO, Lisa Cleveland, that he dealt with highly classified materials, but as they looked deeper into the case and his history, they discovered that Roth had been taking photos in a park two miles away from the crime scene before he was involved in a high-speed car chase for blowing a stop sign. Once they realized Ducky and Jimmy had been taken, they had to work on solving the case while finding them, and then things got a bit more complicated when they discovered Roth wasn’t really Roth. He had an offshore bank account filled up primarily by Cuban sources, and his signatures didn’t match; at some point in the two weeks between his final interview and his induction into the naval academy, the switch was made.

So what happened to fake Roth? Well, as it turned out, they had the blood of his shooter. Though Mike tried to deny that he was involved, he really should’ve just looked in a mirror before trying to get that one by Gibbs. He had a black eye and had clearly been in a fight, and he finally admitted that Roth had been sleeping with his wifeÂ—Lisa, his COÂ—and when he confronted him, it got physical. Roth had the gun, and during the struggle, it went off.

As for Ducky and Jimmy, “Detour” offered a closer look at just what happens with them to and from crime scenes. They flip bones to figure out who drives. They take turns on controlling the radio. They do crossroads (and Jimmy wants to dissect Ducky’s brain when he dies). It’s lighthearted, it’s fun, and it’s something new even after 10 seasons. But that all changed with this episode as they had to pull over for a flat tireÂ—which Ducky discovered was due to a bulletÂ—and were then promptly kidnapped and forced to drive to a cabin. Once there, their legs were chained to the floor while they were forced to perform the autopsy on Roth. Anna wanted answers, and while Ducky did tell her some things, they also used what they had to their advantage and got the kidnappers to clear the room by opening up the stomach. They couldn’t stand the smell, and once they were alone, Ducky told Jimmy they had to go on the offensive and use what they had: the victim.

So Jimmy used gastric acid to get through the chains while Ducky took Roth’s hearing aid and modified it so he could listen to the kidnappers in the next room. Roth was supposed to deliver a package to them, and they thought his shooter had it. Ducky also heard Anna tell the two men to bury RothÂ—and Ducky and Jimmy with himÂ—when the autopsy was finished. They had to think fast. And they did, coming up with a plan for an escape. Ducky told their kidnappers that Roth shot himself, not on purpose, but while struggling for control of the gun, but that wasn’t all. They had insurance, something Ducky would only tell them somewhere public. But when Jimmy looked to a jar, they found a locker key. They told Anna that Roth swallowed it, and Jimmy started talkingÂ—a lot. But he was just stalling as they waited for the cigarette they put in the oven to ignite the gauze. During the explosion, one of the kidnappers was killed and Ducky and Jimmy escaped.

They ran through the woodsÂ—with Ducky doing a better job than Jimmy, thanks to his cardio rehabÂ—and when they heard gunshots, they knew they needed a new plan. That was when Jimmy revealed he grabbed a gun from one of the kidnappers when they escaped. Meanwhile, the team had been able to track the SUV that had been following the ME van, and that SUV was registered to a shell company that used the same bank that funded Roth’s offshore account. Roth had been taking pictures for surveillance and had to terminate the op when the police got involved during the chase. Roth’s handlers were the ones who took Jimmy and Ducky. So while they were headed to the cabin, Ducky and Jimmy stumbled across another problem when Ducky hurt his ankle. Jimmy refused to leave him, so they decided it was time to make a stand. And while they sat, they bickered over who should be holding the gun. Ducky had training (but it was with a musket, 50 years ago), while Jimmy brought up his experience in Black Ops 2 and pointed out that Ducky’s eyesight wasn’t what it used to be and it was dark out. Jimmy suggested maybe it was time for him to leave.

So Ducky drew Lincoln out for Jimmy to shoot, but Jimmy didn’t kill him. However, by that time, the team had found the cabin, found the clues left behind, and found them in time to disarm Lincoln. And as for Anna, they found her using that locker key to open… Jimmy’s locker. Ducky hadn’t mentioned the sewage he found underneath Roth’s fingernails. They found a USB drive in a sewer. “You’ve been played,” Ducky told her.

Meanwhile, Tony learned that McGee had been getting people concert tickets for yearsÂ—and keeping it from him. Despite McGee’s attempts to get away from him, Gibbs sent the two of them to talk to Roth’s CO so they could work things out, and McGee admitted he knew Tony would take advantage of the fact that McGee’s cousin worked for a concert promoter.